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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236336">Now I See Everything In A Different Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles'>CaptainLeBubbles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Valentine's Day Fluff, references to James' father</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:34:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,524</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236336</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James and Qrow spend Valentine's Day at home, discuss the nature of romance, and plan for some upcoming changes in their life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood, past James Ironwood/Josef Polendina (oc)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1200967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Now I See Everything In A Different Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Second short! This is actually a companion piece to the other Valentine's Day fic I wrote about Tai and Torchwick.</p><p>This is the first of many shorts where James and Qrow cannot keep their hands off of each other (though... come on, it's Valentine's Day, man). This is mostly because so much of volume three involves me cockblocking them via Clover and Cinder (for different reasons), and I thought I'd throw them a bone (so to speak). This one is actually pretty tame, but... well, you've been warned.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>-/-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One would think that, with what romantics James and Qrow were, Valentine’s Day would be a hugely significant day for celebrating said romance. In fact it was the opposite: because they romanced one another with startling regularity, Valentine’s Day was just an excuse to go out. Rather than go through with any elaborate plans they decided to just go out for a nice dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On finding out that Tai and the children all had plans as well, they decided to celebrate something far rarer, having the house to themselves, and with one quick phone call to cancel their reservations, their plans now involved staying home and cooking their nice dinner together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, depending on where you’re standing, could be argued to be more romantic anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Honestly, it was nicer than if they’d gone out. They made beef stroganoff, Qrow singing along to the soft music playing in the background, and no sooner had he thrown it into the oven to cook had James grabbed his hand and pulled him into an impromptu dance in the middle of the dining room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They ate outside on the back porch. It was still early enough in the year that the nighttime was cold, but James was self-heating, and Qrow had set the space heater out to warm the area around the little folding table before they started cooking, so it wasn’t that cold by the time they got out there, and it was more romantic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But honestly, what even is romance?” Qrow asked, as they sat down with their plates. “I mean, what is it that makes this romantic, but eating inside in the dining room isn’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the little things you do differently on the grounds of romance,” James said. “It’s a familiar environment, but we change a few details, and that makes it remarkable.” He reached across the table and took Qrow’s hand with his, bringing it to his lips briefly before setting it back down. “Not to mention the intimacy. The dining room table is big enough to accommodate eight people comfortably, but at this table we barely have enough leg room for both of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow snorted. “Be honest, Jimmy, do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> have enough leg room? Because I know I don’t, and you’ve got a couple inches on me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My life does involve more than the standard amount of scrunching. The world was not made with us tall people in mind.” He knocked his knees playfully against Qrow’s under the table with a smirk. “It has its perks though. Like I said, it’s very intimate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why does this feel more intimate than when we’re both naked? What is it about trying to scrunch under a folding table in the cold that’s more romantic than if we were naked and cosy in my bed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to go on record to say that being naked together in your bed is very romantic, and if you doubt that, I’ll be happy to demonstrate later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow laughed. “Okay, okay, point made. You know, my bed doesn’t have much legroom either. Maybe that’s the secret to intimacy. No legroom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Counter argument— my bed has plenty of legroom, but we still manage intimacy anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oooh, and something about the fact that we </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> spread out and choose not to lends itself to the intimacy in question. Hm.” He rested his chin in one hand, considering the dilemma. “So which is more intimate? Being close with everything close around you, or being close even if you don’t have to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Both definitely have their upsides. Which do you prefer?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow hummed thoughtfully at that, and then gave James a sly smile. “I can’t say for sure. We may have to experiment and find our conclusions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well as I am a man of science, I fully support anything that allows me to better understand the world I live in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow snorted. “You nerd.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-/-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had an icebox cake for dessert, which Qrow had made earlier as a surprise. They came inside to eat it, though, seated at opposite ends of the loveseat with Qrow’s feet in James’ lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” James said suddenly, setting aside his empty plate (which Zwei immediately came over to inspect, lapping at the whipped cream clinging to the plate with delighted snuffling noises).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m… thinking of changing careers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow’s eyebrows went up a bit. “Yeah? Bold move. What career you thinking of?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James hummed thoughtfully, a little embarrassed. “Don’t make fun of me? I kinda. Was thinking of becoming a Kindergarten teacher.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow nodded, and then his brow furrowed in thought. “Why would I make fun of you for that?” he asked. “I know how much you love being around kids, and I’ve never met an under twelve who didn’t fall in love with you immediately. Also… </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am a teacher? Hello? What in the world would there be to make fun of?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James’ neck burned, and he looked down at his lap a moment before laughing sheepishly. “I may have jumped to assumptions…” He sighed. “When I was a small boy, my Kindergarten teacher was the most wonderful man I had ever met. I wanted to be just like him! Father was… not pleased at the prospect. He said I was destined for greater things, that anyone could teach and even a- well, that anyone could teach Kindergarten. That he wasn’t going to see me waste my potential, that was what regular people were for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow scowled. “No offense but I’m going to set fire to your father’s grave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James chuckled. “There’s no point. I’ve long learned to ignore his nonsense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you still thought I’d make fun of you for wanting to teach Kindergarten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm. Maybe not as learned as I would have liked to think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still.” Qrow set his own plate down (it was immediately attacked by Zwei) and shifted around so that he could lay his head in James’ lap. James gave him a startled smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s more comfy to talk like this,” he shrugged, and went on. “So what’s prompted this, anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something Mercury said a few months ago.” He rested one hand on Qrow’s chest, and with the other got to work on his hair, twisting each carefully gelled lock loose. “It was a throwaway remark, and I think I wasn’t meant to give it any real attention, but it dug down into my brain and reminded me of when I was a child and wanted nothing more than to teach. Ever since then I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d need to go back to school,” Qrow pointed out, shaking his head free of James’ fingers with a pointed glower. “You need a special degree for early childhood education. Takes four years, on average. You’d be almost fifty before you could start teaching.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. I looked it up. And I’m willing to put in the time, that’s not the issue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow hummed a thought. “The lab?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure how I feel about giving up my work,” he nodded. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve done what I needed to do, that it’s time to let the next generation take up the mantle, but other times…” He sighed. “Have you heard that a man isn’t dead until all of the work he began is ended?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just… the work I’m doing, the lab itself, it’s Josef’s legacy. To abandon it would be like… I don’t know, abandoning everything he worked for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, but that’s bullshit.” Qrow sat up, pausing to look down in confusion when his shirt fell open. He shook his head and went on, “Josef’s legacy isn’t that lab or anything that goes on in it. Yeah, that’s his work, and it’s important to continue it, but his legacy is that little girl of yours. All of her potential and the time and love and joy and growing pains you two share, that’s Josef’s legacy. And it’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> one. And you’re not abandoning him or doing his memory dirty if you leave his work in someone else’s hands.” He knelt beside James on the loveseat and leaned his forehead against James’ temple. “Listen, I never met the man. Obviously. But from everything you and Penny have told me about him, I don’t think he’d want you to continue at the lab unless your heart was in it. And if your heart is in something else, then he’d want you to follow through on that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James smiled, and turned enough to capture Qrow in a soft kiss. “You’re right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m right. No one who loved you so deeply could ever want you to follow any path out of a sense of obligation. Now.” He stole one more kiss, then leaned back and gestured at himself with his free hand. “Why is my shirt unbuttoned?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James shrugged. “You were wearing too many clothes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Mr. ‘I wear four layers at all times’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think I’m wearing too much, you could always do something about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow smirked-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, just you wait.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-and did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-/-</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey remember a couple months ago when I made a post that was like "tee hee what if James was a Kindergarten teacher?" Yeah I've been planning this for awhile.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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